José Reina asks Liverpool fans to be patient and realistic

José Reina asks Liverpool fans to be patient and realistic

• Players need to get used to new system
• Struggles will continue until ownership is sorted out

Stuart James
guardian.co.uk,    Monday 13 September 2010 16.31 BST

José Reina says that Liverpool are in transition and that fans should not expect them to be challenging for the title.

José Reina has given a brutally honest assessment of Liverpool's prospects this season by admitting it could be "a while" before the club are capable of finishing in the top four, never mind challenging for the title. The Liverpool goalkeeper's comments will do little to improve the mood at Anfield after an uninspiring start to the season but Reina has pleaded for patience and urged the club's supporters to be "realistic" about their expectations.

Liverpool have collected five points from their opening four Premier League matches and Sunday's disappointing goalless draw at Birmingham City means they are seven points adrift of the leaders, Chelsea. With a visit to Manchester United to come in the league on Sunday, things could get worse before they get better for Liverpool, although Reina believes the supporters must understand that the club are currently going through a transitional phase. "We have to make sure that people don't think of winning the league or being in the top four already at this moment. It is going to take a while," he said.

Reina has pointed to the number of new signings Roy Hodgson has brought in since he took over from Rafael Benítez in the summer and the tactical changes that the new manager has made to the way the team play as legitimate reasons for their underwhelming start. The Spaniard has also highlighted the financial constraints that Liverpool are operating under while George Gillett and Tom Hicks are at the helm and the impact that their troubled reign has had on the club's transfer activity, in particular during this summer.

"We have got to get used to the new players and then the system. There are many good teams and our target is to be up there but we have to be realistic."

Asked whether securing a qualification berth for the Champions League this season was realistic, Reina replied: "I don't know. We will find out at the end of the season what we can achieve. Of course, we have to challenge for being up there. Maybe it will take a while and people have to be patient. I know [that no one has patience]. But we are just asking for a little bit.

"We did not spend much money [in the summer] and in football, to compete with the others, sometimes it is important to do it. We couldn't. We sold some players and we used the money for buying some others. It's going to be like this for a little while until we sort out the owners' situations."

Reina was outstanding at St Andrew's, where he made two brilliant first-half saves to deny Cameron Jerome and Craig Gardner as Liverpool escaped with a point. Liverpool have failed to beat Birmingham in the league in their last nine matches, a run that stretches back to 2004, when Gérard Houllier was in charge and Michael Owen and Emile Heskey were playing up front. Reina, however, refused to be downbeat about the outcome.

"We could easily have lost the game, so we should be happy with the point," he said. "It is not what we look for but I've never beaten Birmingham in the league in five years and it is always difficult [at St Andrew's]. I don't like to play there because it is always tough and we never get the proper results there. But let's look at it in a positive way. We won a point and we have to go forward from here."

Sound Pepe

I dont think its unrealistic to expect a few shots in 90 minutes tho. Am I wrong?

Sound Pepe

I dont think its unrealistic to expect a few shots in 90 minutes tho. Am I wrong?

Nope especially when Birmingham City can manage it.

I've lowered my expectations until we get new onwers, top 10 no silverware, anything more is a bonus.

There's a new system? Can't see it.

There's a new system? Can't see it.

Just thinking the same thing.

Can we make Pepe honorary scouser? F**k he just never gets a word wrong does he, speaking honestly but not in a bad way - just saying what most sound minded fans are thinking. The man is one of us.

He's not typical man crush material, but he is working his way up there for me

Nice one Pepe.

Nice one Pepe, Ive learned to have patience with Liverpool a long time ago. Better than 7th and its progress.

New system, same sh*t different day.Just pray we are sold soon.

Aww we love ya Pepe!
Much like Nando- never says a word wrong!

Although we all feel the same way about the owners- on the pitch performances & results are down to the players Roy chooses to play- when i see Lucas & Poulsen passing backwards or to eachother- i cant think of anyone other to blame than Roy for starting them in the first place, for not subbing them off & im sure of playing them again.
Merieles, Babel & Pacheco had to watch that sh*te- knowing they can do better.

I cant bring myself to lower my expectations, it wasnt a million years ago we were Kings of Europe-

should give this guy key to ther city totally realistic hurts in a way  but the results so far indicate  its going to be a long season. trouble is new players,new manager,ownership issues. so many off the field distractions.

I cant bring myself to lower my expectations, it wasnt a million years ago we were Kings of Europe-

So so true..

I love Pepe to bits, but I will be patient when those pair of Yank bas**rds leave.

I was going to start a thread highlighting some of the points that Pepe makes. We have a new manager and system in place, 2 key signings in the form of Meireles and Cole who have hardly been involved in the league thus far, on top of that we have replaced 50 million worth of midfield talent in the shape of Alonso and Mascherano with 9 million in the shape of Lucas and Poulsen all the whilst expecting to achieve the same result we had with the former 2.

Beyond man crush now.

*Awaits someone to highlight Gerrard/Carra have been quiet*

Aww we love ya Pepe!
Much like Nando- never says a word wrong!

Although we all feel the same way about the owners- on the pitch performances & results are down to the players Roy chooses to play- when I see Lucas & Poulsen passing backwards or to eachother- I cant think of anyone other to blame than Roy for starting them in the first place, for not subbing them off & im sure of playing them again.
Merieles, Babel & Pacheco had to watch that sh*te- knowing they can do better.

I cant bring myself to lower my expectations, it wasnt a million years ago we were Kings of Europe-

MsTorres that post highlights the way I feel with regards to on pitch performances/tactics as well as the mind set Roy has instilled. I refuse to believe a team filled with Torres, Gerrard, Reina, Agger, Carra, Cole, Meireles can't compete at the top, Especially when we have talent on the bench in the form of Pacheco, Kelly, Babel etc. My beef is with Roy at the moment, with all the players I have just mentioned there should be no space for the likes of Poulsen & Lucas, this negative mentality is that of a mid table team! The expectation should be number 1, this is LFC, not the Bitters. Roy, wake up! Go for the win every time!

I cant bring myself to lower my expectations, it wasn't a million years ago we were Kings of Europe-

We still are.

5.

How much more pationt can we be? I haven't heard the fans turn on the players at any of the games, which is good, but they certainly aren't deserving of loyalty we've shown them so far, but when you love your team, you put up with the bad times as well as the good.
They'll Never Walk Alone

MsTorres that post highlights the way I feel with regards to on pitch performances/tactics as well as the mind set Roy has instilled. I refuse to believe a team filled with Torres, Gerrard, Reina, Agger, Carra, Cole, Meireles can't compete at the top, Especially when we have talent on the bench in the form of Pacheco, Kelly, Babel etc. My beef is with Roy at the moment, with all the players I have just mentioned there should be no space for the likes of Poulsen & Lucas, this negative mentality is that of a mid table team! The expectation should be number 1, this is LFC, not the Bitters. Roy, wake up! Go for the win every time!

Exactly! This is what i believe as well... fair enough we lost some quality players, but we also got 2 quality players in and managed to keep the core of our squad from backline to striker, which we were all relieved about.

Now look at the other contenders, who has a truly "All star" first 11? Nobody, we have Pepe, Agger, Gerrard and Torres...a spine within the team of the quality which possibly only 2 other clubs can compare with. We see manure playing 21yr old twins as defenders, Arsenal fielding teenagers in midfield, and other top 4 challengers playing "average" players all over the place, yet they get results.
What this tells me is that the attitude of our players and manager is therefore one of being inferior and accordingly playing in a manner that lets the opposition believe we are ready to get beaten.

The sooner this attitude changes, the better for all of us...there is just too much negativity around LFC atm!!!
Nobody here can honestly believe that our starting 11 (even incl. LL & CP) is not strong enough to beat a Birmingham team. We need to play with some belief, that starts with our coach as well!

We still are.

5.

You know what i mean!
What good is going on about how many cups we have, when we arnt even competing at the top anymore!
We were there, we should be there- i dont care how much money is in the premier league(city) or how many teams want to be up there- we should be top 4 without even fighting for it! Arghhh!

Although we all feel the same way about the owners- on the pitch performances & results are down to the players Roy chooses to play- when I see Lucas & Poulsen passing backwards or to eachother- I cant think of anyone other to blame than Roy for starting them in the first place, for not subbing them off & im sure of playing them again.
Merieles, Babel & Pacheco had to watch that sh*te- knowing they can do better.

I cant bring myself to lower my expectations, it wasnt a million years ago we were Kings of Europe-


Sure the performance at Birmingham was dire, and Lucas and Poulsen-whom i think his arrival has set Lucas back, more than anything- are like Pea's in the same pod, and surely to god Merieles will be starting pretty much every game now.
But i seem to recall the s**te that was being played in the Autumn of 2004 when Rafa first arrived, so Hodgson does need a bit of time, for players to gel and to stamp his authority, we are only four games into the season after all.

There's a new system? Can't see it.

my sentiments

Pepe Reina is a hero. Never says a wrong word and he put in a fantastic performance against the blue nose bas**rds

Not wanting to stir anything up but isn't this almost exactly what Roy said, after which most of the comments in the thread seemed to be about how he was 'making excuses' already?

Reina, I know, u just want to cover RH's ass on and off the game.. ..